St. John’s loses fifth and sixth straight home games; Marlies coming to town this weekend

The Rock Report 01\/07The IceCaps opened the New Year with a pair of tough one-goal losses to divisional rival the Manchester Monarchs\r\nFriday and Saturday at Mile One Centre. St. John\u2019s pressed hard for the tie on Friday, scoring with less than two minutes\r\nto play to narrow the gap to 3-2, but it was too little, too late.

The IceCaps opened the New Year with a pair of tough one-goal losses to divisional rival the Manchester Monarchs Friday and Saturday at Mile One Centre. St. John’s pressed hard for the tie on Friday, scoring with less than two minutes to play to narrow the gap to 3-2, but it was too little, too late. Saturday, Carl Klingberg scored twice, including the tying goal in the third period, but the IceCaps were unable to dispose of the Monarchs in overtime, losing 3-2 once again. St. John’s hosts the Toronto Marlies for the first time this season this coming Friday and Saturday as they look to snap their franchise-high six-game home losing streak.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Friday, January 4 – Manchester Monarchs 3 St. John’s IceCaps 2

Martin Jones made 32 saves to snap his personal ninegame

losing streak as the Manchester Monarchs defeated the St. John’s IceCaps 3-2 Friday night at Mile One Centre. Jones made a plethora of huge saves while Tyler Toffoli scored twice in the game’s opening five minutes to pace the Monarchs. Linden Vey notched a pair of assists while

Andrei Loktionov also scored for Manchester. Spencer Machacek and Ray Sawada scored for St. John’s, which fell to 15-19-0-1 overall and just 6-10-0-1 in 17 home contests. Eddie Pasquale made 26 saves between the pipes for the IceCaps in a losing cause.

Saturday, January 5 – Manchester Monarchs 3 St. John’s IceCaps 2 (OT)

The Manchester Monarchs defeated the St. John’s IceCaps 3-2 for the

second consecutive night Saturday at Mile One Centre. Slava Voynov potted the winner in overtime, capitalizing on a St. John’s turnover, as Manchester leaves St. John’s with four points, handing the IceCaps their fifth and sixth straight home losses. St. John’s got its offence from Carl Klingberg, who scored a pair of goals to snap a personal 15-game scoring drought. Mark Dekanich provided a solid effort between the pipes, stopping 29 shots and making key saves to allow his team to escape with a single point.

Peter Mannino, who began last season with the IceCaps, made 25 saves for the Monarchs in his return to Mile One Centre.

ICE-CAPSules

No More Lockout: The NHL and NHLPA announced Sunday that they reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, meaning teams will begin a shortened schedule later this month.Training camps for NHL clubs are likely to begin this coming weekend, and it is expected that several IceCaps players will be invited to Winnipeg to battle for the remaining open spots on the Jets.

Postma Producing: D Paul Postma has been producing offensively since the Christmas break ended. The All-Star rearguard has four points (2G, 2A) in his last four games and is tied for the team lead in scoring with 18 points. Postma’s seven shots on goal in Saturday’s overtime loss vs. MCH were a team game-high this season.

Chiarot on the Offensive: After recording just one assist in his first 26 games, D Ben Chiarot has found his offensive game of late. The rookie defenceman has four points (1G, 3A) in his last five games and has been featured on a pairing with Paul Postma.

Klingberg Breaks Through: A lengthy goalless drought ended Saturday for F Carl Klingberg, who potted a pair of goals to snap a streak of 15 games without a tally. Despite his futility, Klingberg leads the club in plus/minus with a +5 rating and sits tied for second in goal scoring with seven.

Quick Hits: St. John’s has lost six straight home games, with their last win coming back on Nov. 25 in a 6-0 victory over the Providence Bruins… Saturday’s loss was just the IceCaps first defeat in overtime this season. The club is 4-0-1-1 in games that extend past regulation time… St. John’s is 12-5-1-1 in one-goal games this season…The IceCaps are 4-5-1-1 vs. the Atlantic Division.